Jonathan Myerson

Jonathan Myerson
Lambeth Borough Councillor
for Clapham Town Ward
In office
2 May 2002 – 4 May 2006
Preceded byMichael English
Succeeded byNigel Haselden
Personal details
Born (1960-01-12) 12 January 1960
Cardiff, Wales
PartyLabour
SpouseJulie Myerson

Jonathan Myerson (born 12 January 1960 in Cardiff, Wales) is a British dramatist and novelist, writing principally for television and radio. His partner is novelist Julie Myerson.

Early life

Myerson's great-grandfather, Carnovsky,[1] was an ex-Russian asylum seeker, who arrived, in 1883 and spoke only Yiddish.[2] Myerson's grandfather's family arrived from Johannesburg in the mid-nineteen-twenties.[1] Myerson's mother (née Lavis[1]) arrived from Australia just after WW2.[1] Myerson's father died in 1986.[1] Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain deems him Jewish.[3]

Career

Myerson's first play Making a Difference was commissioned by the Oxford Playhouse Company. A subsequent work, Diary of a Nobody was written for the National Theatre.[4]

His audio work for BBC Radio 4 includes Number 10, a five-part series about a fictional Prime Minister and his staff in Downing Street,[5] including an episode in which Saint Helena is invaded by Angola; That was Then, which was broadcast in five parts as BBC Radio Four's 15 Minute Drama in 2017;[6] The Republicans, a suite of six plays about recent US presidents in 2018;[7] and Nuremberg: The Trial of the Nazi War Criminals, which was broadcast in 16 parts in 2021[8][9] The Way We Live Right Now, a BBC Radio Four adaptation in 15 episodes of twelve minutes[10] of the Anthony Trollope novel The Way We Live Now, re-setting it in the present day.[11][12] for the Woman's Hour.[13]

His animated film of The Canterbury Tales was nominated for an Oscar (as animated short film) in 1999 and won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film in addition to four Primetime Emmys.[14]

He has also written scripts for several British television drama series including The Bill, Holby City, EastEnders, Jupiter Moon and The Legend of William Tell as well as being involved in animation. He has written scripts for Testament: The Bible in Animation and The Canterbury Tales (as being head director and executive director) and voice directed Animated Tales of the World. In June 2017, Myerson's

Myerson is the author of two novels, Noise (1998) and Your Father (1999) and is a founding partner of The Writer's Practice, a literary consultancy.

He was a Labour councillor for Clapham Town Ward, Lambeth from 2002 to 2006[15][16]

As of 2017, he is the Course Director, MA in Creative Writing (Novels) at City University London's Journalism Department.[17]

Personal life

He lives in South London with novelist Julie Myerson, and two of their three children, Chloe and Raphael. The family was secretly the subject of the "Living with Teenagers" column in The Guardian newspaper before later being identified.[18] It was revealed in 2009 that their third child, Jake, had several years earlier (2007) been thrown out of the family home by the parents for smoking cannabis.[19] Both he and his wife have been criticized for their lack of empathy and poor understanding of youth culture.[20][21] In an article in The Guardian, Myerson reported that, upon hearing his son would achieve "A" grades at GCSE, he said: "He needs to fail one of these GCSEs. He needs to realise what he's doing."[22]

Radio scripts

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Myerson, Jonathan (10 February 2004). "Are your family's dark secrets lurking on the net?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  2. ^ Myerson, Jonathan (28 January 2004). "The World's Most Ungrateful Refugee". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  3. ^ "JCR-UK: Lambeth Synagogue – Beth Jacob Synagogue & Lambeth Talmud Torah (Federation Synagogue) closed, London SE1". www.jewishgen.org. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  4. ^ "Julia Tyrrell Management – Literary Agency – JONATHAN+MYERSON+-+WRITER". Archived from the original on 17 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  5. ^ Temko, Ned (2 September 2007). "The West Wing comes to Downing Street". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  6. ^ Producer and Director: Jonquil Panting (5 June 2017). "15 Minute Drama: That Was Then: Episode 1". 15 Minute Drama. BBC. BBC Radio Four. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  7. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – the Republicans – Episode guide".
  8. ^ "Story of Nuremberg Trials told in compelling new radio drama series". Jewish News. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  9. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Nuremberg: The Trial of the Nazi War Criminals". BBC. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  10. ^ Deacon, Nigel; Deacon, Alison. "Jonathan Myerson Radio Plays". suttonelms.org.uk , DIVERSITY website – radio drama, plays. South Leicestershire (UK Parliament constituency). Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  11. ^ Myerson, Jonathan (16 June 2008). "Everyone still has their price". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  12. ^ "In praise of ... The Way We Live Now". The Guardian. 17 June 2008. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  13. ^ Myerson, Jonathan (2008). 'the way we live right now' (radio script, 15 episodes) (PDF). City University London. Retrieved 8 September 2025. dramatised for 2008 by jonathan myerson from the 1875 novel by anthony trollope
  14. ^ HBO Receives 23 Emmy Awards(r) in 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards(r) Competition,The Most of Any Network, and a Record For HBO
  15. ^ Opinions: 'Town hall blues' by Jonathan Myerson | Prospect Magazine May 2007 issue 134
  16. ^ Myerson, Jonathan (30 May 2006). "Farewell, my fiefdom". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  17. ^ "People: Jonathan Myerson". www.city.ac.uk. City University London. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  18. ^ Gardiner, Becky (10 March 2009). "Living with the Myersons". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  19. ^ Moore-Bridger, Benedict (13 April 2012). "Jake Myerson: My novelist mother was insane to kick me out because of drugs". The Standard. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  20. ^ Renzetti, Elizabeth (21 March 2009). "His mother totally narked him out, man!". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 8 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  21. ^ Chancellor, Alexander (6 March 2009). "By writing publicly about her son's drug problem, Julie Myerson demonstrates her own addiction". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  22. ^ Myerson, Jonathan (10 March 2009). "This is an emergency". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  23. ^ Kirschbaum, Erik (2013). Rocking the Wall: Bruce Springsteen : the Berlin Concert that Changed the World. Berlinica. ISBN 978-3-96026-073-8.
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